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Working hard to stay motiviated

Some items I have been working on. Have not gotten anything listed either on here or Etsy in a week or more. Designed some things to match my outfits, this bracet was one, but I ended up not wearing it.

I had bought a really lovely peasant blouse with these colors, they look great with it !!

made these for an event I went to. looked nice with the top I was wearing

Just for fun, love those moon stone beads, they are so pretty !!!

Took some metallic balls from this old necklace and used them for these earrings. They are a deep rich cherry red. Wish I could capture that color with my camera, it is just so beautiful !!

The design process, some got made, some didn’t !!!

I am still creating jewelry, I love my beads, I love the creating process. I am enjoying making stuff to wear myself, something I never think to do. But

I will be honest. I am struggling a bit right now. I have worked so hard filling my Etsy store and making as many things as I could do while mainting my quality standards and I have yet to see more than a few sales.

I know my quality is good I am very picky and have extremely high standards on what I make. I want my customers to recieve quality items they can enjoy for many years.

I will admit I am not very computer savy. I have a lot to learn. I have no clue how to link my blog during those blog link parties I see. I have no idea how to do more than post here.

I will learn. I am going to figure out how to learn more. I want to be successful.

The question I am asking myself if this.

When do you know when to quit. I read all the time. Never give up, you could be almost to your goal, you have no idea how close you might be. I have read about the brick wall, that it is in my way, I can climb over it, I can dig under it, I can go around it, I can kick it down. But when do you know the differance between not giving up or insanity. Einstien said, the definiation of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

So, how do you know you should still be working on that wall, or you have reached the point of it turning into insanity because you are beating a wall and it is not going to move and you are not going to get different results.

How do you know ? That is the question.

I have been working up to forty, even fifty hours a week, with less than a hundred dollars in sales a month. That does not mean profit, it means sales. I have to deduct my materials from that, and that does not count the hours I worked. I am grateful for every single customer, and every single sale. I just feel I should be doing more, but do not know what else I can do to get more sales. I get a ton of views, but no sales. In the last month, I have had 438 views and only one sale, and those were from a friend of mine who is very supportive !! March I had four sales, for a total of $81.26 in sales . April I have made $20.24. Pretty sure that is going to be about it for April, I only have a few days left to make sales . Feb was my big month with $ 144.48 in sales and Jan was $15.90 !!! Dec is supposed to be a big month and I made a grand total of sales of $103.53. I just do not get it.

I just got a car this week , so doing shows was not an option when I did not have a car. I still need someone to go with me. I cannot leave my table unattended while I have to take a break here and there through the day. Shows are very expensive now a days and I make lots of inexpenive things. So, to have to sell ten to twenty things, just to break even on rent and materials, not even counting my hours.I am not sure I am willing to do that. When you have something you can make a lot per item on, paying up to 125 bucks for a space is fine. The problem is, every show I go to, there is about half the people there selling jewelry. I am afraid of paying that large fee and selling nothing. I have questioned jewelry sellers at those things, they tell me the only thing they sell is the five dollar stuff. No one wants to buy thier nice items.

I am really at a loss right now. I do not want to give up. I am scheduled to sponsor Ruthie Hart through the end of the year and my Etsy store is well stocked. I will keep going, but I have got to figure this out.

I am open to advice, I am happy to share what I learn and would love to learn from others who have been successful !!

I stand by my jewelry and wine charms, I know they are good quality . I just have to figure out how to get others to see that !!

Well, thanks for reading my whiney post, I am not meaning to whine, I am just very frustrated today !!

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2 responses to “Working hard to stay motiviated”

I’m sorry to hear things are so challenging! I hope you’ll keep at it – I think your stuff is lovely (and if I had a little more disposable income myself just now I’d place some orders 😀 ). One thing my sister has had some luck with is working on consignment with local stores. Maybe you can find some stores who will do that with you, I think people are probably more likely to buy in person – especially if the items are relatively low-cost. With online stuff, you start thinking about shipping and all that – but if it’s right there in front of you and not too much money… well…

I am *glad*, though, to see you enjoying your own handiwork and creating for yourself, I think that’s nice!

Thanks, I really appreciate your kind words more than you know !! I had a friend suggest the same thing, so I think I will try to find some stores like that. I am not sure if we have any right by were we live, but I will look around and see. I have thought the same thing, that not being able to touch and see in person does make a differance. Even though I only charge what it costs to ship, you are right, it is another 2.25 they have to pay, and that seems like a lot when the item is under twenty bucks, often around ten or twelve.
I decided that I would design for me, lol, at least someone can enjoy my handiwork, lol !! So, that is my goal for the coming week, see if I can find a place to sell my stuff in a store on consignment, I think that is a great idea, and I have some ideas of differant places to check with !!
Thanks again, and appreciate you stopping by, I enjoy your blog very much, so it is a nice compliment for you to comment here !!
Stephie